Sorry mate, but I think it is really good. I had to put on my earphones last night whilst my babe (aka the wife), was watching the interminably drawn out sickness that is Tracie Barlow and Dierdre. I was thinking of listening to Bassekou Kouyate and Ali came on instead. [For a techno geek I still can't figure out my mp3 player]. I was stunned by the variety and interplay between his guitar and voice. It is a deep record. But there again I like Iman Aman - strange, but true!

I have always liked his recordings, but this one is the first that seems to fully realise his full range of abilities whilst simultaneously doing what he always did best, ie integrate his talent into rounded group pieces that brought the best out of his fellow musicians. I think it's just great from start to finish, and it has one asset that sets it apart from 99.99% of other albums, which is that it manages to marry a variety of styles (or approaches) into a unified whole. Not an easy trick to pull off.